Solar Power Cells, Hot Water, Energy, Collectors

First Solar Never So Cheap in Takeover Boon for Energy: Real M&A

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Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- For acquirers willing to wager on the future of solar power, First Solar Inc. has gotten $22 billion cheaper.

First Solar has tumbled 76 percent this year, the biggest drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as the Tempe, Arizona- based company lowered its profit forecast and shifted its focus to large power plants. Once worth $25 billion, First Solar was valued this week as low as $2.64 billion, the steepest discount to net assets since its 2006 initial public offering and cheaper than 94 percent of renewable energy equipment companies greater than $1 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The world’s largest maker of thin-film solar panels may now attract takeover interest from General Electric Co. or Siemens AG on the expectation that demand will increase in the $55 billion solar power industry during the next decade as prices become more competitive with fossil fuels and other forms of electricity, according to Robert W. Baird & Co. While short sellers have boosted bearish bets against First Solar to the third highest in the S&P 500, it could command at least a 50 percent premium in an acquisition, said Kaufman Bros. LP.

Source: BusinessWeek